Shutoff valve,especially for flushing units

ABSTRACT

A shutoff valve with a closure body which is moved by a fluid medium against a valve seat and which is adapted to be lifted off from the valve seat by an actuating member, especially for flushing devices in toilet installations, in which the closure member is connected to a fluid medium actuated plunger which is reciprocable in a cylindrical chamber with feeding passages in the inner surface thereof and which then moved in opening direction against the direction of the flow of fluid medium releases said feeding passages.

United States Patent inventors Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Priority Tore Gulich Malmo;

Lennari Stigmark, Staftanstorp, both 01,

Sweden 865,042 06.9, 1969 June22, 1971' Aktiebolaget lioverken Bromolla, Sweden on. 10, 1968, Mar. 27, 1969 Germany P 18 02 219.0:P

SHUTOFF VALVE, ESPECIALLY FOR FLUSHING UNITS 17 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[50] Field of Search [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,204,191 6/1940 Sloan et a1. 251/120 2,341,394 2/1940 Sloan... 251/120 2,684,830 7/1954 Stephany 251/120 X Primary Examiner-Henry T. Klinksiek Attorney-Walter Becker SHUTOFF VALVE, ESPECIALLY FOR FLUSHING UNITS The present invention relates to a shutoff valve with a closure body which by a fluid medium is moved against a valve seat while the closure body is adapted by means of an actuating member to be lifted off the valve seat. The shutoff valve according to the present invention is especially intended, but by no means limited, for flushing devices in toilets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shutoff valve of the above-mentioned type which is simple in construction and easy to operate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a shutoff valve especially for flushing devices which even over a longer period of time will operate surely and free from disorders.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a shutoff valve for pressure flushing means in toilet installations which will operate at a particularly low noise level.

Heretofore known pressure flushing devices with springoperated closure bodies have the tendency to flutter when the turbulence which occurs during the throttling of the water passing through the valve seat, and the spring form a vibratory system. Furthermore, heretofore known .pressure flushers have the tendency in response to a sudden closure to bring about a vibration or oscillation of the water column in the pipe system with the result that connections are loosened and may become untight or leaky.

Furthermore, with heretofore known shutoff valves of the type involved, the forces required on the actuating lever for lifting the closure body had to be so great that a fine metering out of the desired flush flow was not possible. In this way it could happen that the onrushing water splashed over the wall of the toilet bowl.

The above-mentioned drawbacks have been overcome by a shutoff valve according to the present invention which is characterized primarily in that the closure body communicates with a piston-shaped onflow quieting means which is actuated by the fluid medium and which is displaceably mounted in a cylindrical onflow chamber having lateral inlet openings, said onflow quieting means being adapted in response to the opening movement by the actuating member to free the entrance openings against the direction of flow of the fluid medium.

Preferably, the inlet openings are arranged in pairs with the openings of each pair located opposite to each other while the individual opening pairs in the direction of flow have different dimensions. In this way a water hammering and a fluttering of the valve body will be prevented. This effect may furthermore be aided according to a further development of the invention by providing a throttling chamber which when viewing in the direction of flow is located behind the seat of the closure body. This throttling chamber may be formed by a wall which is coaxial with the valve exit opening and which is of a cylindrical contour. This wall may be provided with throttling bores communicating with the discharge opening.

The closure body is preferably formed by a ball of elastic material having associated therewith a semispherical seat. The ball may, for instance, be of rubber.

With a closure by means of which the flushing flow may easily be initiated, meted out and interrupted without the occurrence of vibrations or oscillations of the water column in the pipeline, the closure body is preferably rigidly coupled to a piston, while the pertaining cylinder portion is located above the piston, is in communication through the upper portion of the housing with a throttling bore leading toward the outside and furthermore communicates through a bore with a passage which feeds the fluid medium. The said passage contains a closure member which controls the supply of fluid medium to the cylinder chamber. The cylinder portion arranged below said closure member communicates through one or more bores with a distributing chamber located between the closure and the lower portion of the cylinder chamber. From this distributing chamber the fluid medium may pass through one or more openings to the discharge line of the valve. In this way the fluid shock-free manner, and a jerky splashing water surge will be avoided.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a shutoff valve according to the present invention which is operable by a pivotable arm,

FIG..2 is a longitudinal section of the shutoff valve according to FIG. 1, but turned by the valve being shown in closed position.

FIG. 3 illustrates a longitudinal section through the valve according to the invention similar to FIG. 2, but with the valve in open position.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of the valve according to the invention as applied to a faucet.

FIG. 5 illustrates a longitudinal section through a flushing device according to the invention, said section being taken along the line V-V of FIG. 7.

FIG. 6 represents a longitudinal section taken along the line Vl-Vl ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a top view of the flushing device according to the invention.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIGS. 14 illustrate a connecting member 10 which is adapted to be connected to a waterline and which comprises a flange 10a and a threaded portion l0e. Screwed onto the threaded section 1012 is a housing member 11 which is closed at the top by a cover 13 connected to the housing 11 by screws 14. The housing member 11 has a discharge pipe 12. The cover 13 carries a shaft 16 on which between two protruding arms 15 there is mounted an eccentric 17 equipped with an arm 12. This arm 18 may, for instance, at the end thereof which is not shown, he provided with a float arranged in a water container and adapted to move the arm 18 upwardly and downwardly depending on the water level as is well known in connection with flushing devices.

The connecting member 10 is at 10b provided with a feed chamber which has lateral inlet openings or grooves and 10d. Mounted in said chamber 10b is a piston-shaped flowquieting member which is longitudinally displaceable. The piston or plunger 25 of this flow-quieting device has its rear end provided with a ball 24 of elastic material for instance, rubber. The connection between the piston or plunger 25 and the ball 24 is effected by means of the end of an actuating rod 23 which end is provided with a thread (see FIG. 3). Rod 23 is longitudinally displaceably mounted in a sealing member 26 of the cover 13. The actuating rod 23 is adapted to be moved by means of the eccentric 17. For purposes of avoiding lateral forces between the eccentric 17 and the actuating rod 23 there is provided a roller 22 which is connected to a lever 21 that is pivotable about a pivot 20.

The closing position of the valve is illustrated in detail in FIG. 2. In this closing position, the ball 24 engages the valve seat 110, and piston 25 occupies such a position that the inlet openings 10c and 10d are covered up so that the admission of water to the closing body 24 is blocked. For purposes of opening the valve, the rod 18 is moved downwardly to such an extent that the actuating rod 23 is displaced against the direction of flow of the water. As a result thereof, ball 24 is lifted off its seat 11c, and the plunger 25 is, counter to the direction of flow, moved to such an extent that (when looking in the direction of flow) the plunger will with its rear edge 25a first free a portion of the inlet grooves 10d. During a further movement of the plunger 25, the freed cross section of the inlet grooves 10d is increased and the edge 250 will move into the range or area of the further inlet grooves 10c which, similar to the inlet grooves 10d, are arranged opposite to each other in the chamber 10b. During a further movement of the plunger 25, thus, not only the through-flow cross section of the inlet grooves 10d is increased, but also the through-flow cross section of the inlet grooves 100 whereby the through-flow cross section is considerably increased. In this way a water hammerflow is, in conformity with the slow actuation, initiated in a 75 ing and afluttering of the valve body will be avoided.

When looking in the direction of flow, a throttle chamber 27 is arranged behind the valve seat lllc. This chamber 27 is fonned by a cylindrical wall 110. In wall 110 there are provided throttling bores 1 1b which lead into a chamber 28 communicating with the discharge 12. This throttling chamber 28 aids the effect of the inlet grooves c and 10d which are offset in the direction of flow. By means of said throttling chamber 28 a certain counterpressure is produced which exerts a quieting effect upon the valve body.

If desired, the actuation of rod 23 may, of course, also be effected in a different way, for instance, by means of a bimetallic spring whereby the quantity of the fluid medium passing through can be controlled in conformity with the temperature.-

In this way, for instance, a mixture of cold and warm water may be effected so that the mixture will have a certain desired temperature.

FIG. 4 shows a modified embodiment according to which the valve of the present invention is applied to a faucet 30 connected to a pipeline 42. As will be seen from the drawing, the faucet 30 has an inlet chamber 31 with inlet grooves 31a and 31b. The plunger 36 of the flow-quieting device, in addition to being provided with a rear (when looking in the direction of flow) edge 360 also carries a ball 35 of elastic material which forms the closure body. This ball 35 is shown as engaging a semispherical sealing surface 32. The throttling chamber 33 through opening 34 communicates with a discharge 30a. The actuating rod 37 mounted in a seal 39 and biased to a closing position by a coil spring 38 may be moved by means of a spindle 40 equipped with a turning knob 41.

The operation of the valve shown in FIG. 4 corresponds to that described in connection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1- -3 so that no further description appears to be necessary.

Referring now to the flushing device of FIGS. 5 to 7, it will be noted that the water pressure of the inflowing water acts against the flow-quieting device 101 and thus simultaneously against the closure member 102 which latter is connected to the device 101 by means of a threaded spindle 103. As shown in the drawing, the piston 104 and the piston rod 105 are at their uppermost position in the cylinder 106, 107. The piston 104 is connected to the piston rod 105 by means of a clamping screw 108. The rod 105 is guided in the upper portion 130 of the housing and also in the intermediate bottom or partition 120.

At the same time, the water pressure acts against the springbiased closure member 109 of the control device 110 in a passage or conduit 111 which feeds liquid to the upper portion 106 of the cylinder. When the control device 110 is pressed downwardly against the spring pressure, the closure member 109 frees the passage 111 for the scavenging or flushing liquid. This liquid then flows past the plunger 112 which is provided with a groove 113 and which guides the control device 110 in the passage 111 so that the said flushing liquid passes into the bore 114 which establishes communication between the passage 111 and the upper portion 106 of the cylinder. The piston 104 is pressed downwardly because the force of the pressure acting upon the large piston surface exceeds the force of the pressure acting upon the closure member 102. As a result thereof, the closure member 102 is moved off its seat 115. Between said seat 115 and the closure member 102, the flushing liquid is able to enter the flat circular liquid distributing chamber 116 where a portion of the fluid pressure will be reduced when the fluid passes outwardly through the discharge openings 117 which are arranged laterally adjacent the liquid distributing chamber 116. This arrangement makes possible a low noise discharge of the flushing fluid.

A further portion of the flushing fluid passes through bores 119 in the intermediate bottom 120. The axes of said bores 119 extend in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane through the axes of the water outlet openings 117. The said further portion of the flushing liquid enters the lower portion 107 of the cylinder, but is unable to press the piston 104 upwardly because the pressure prevailing in the upper portion 106 of the cylinder exceeds the pressure prevailing in the lower portion 107. The intermediate bottom 120 rests on an inner flange 121 of the housing 118 and is held in its position by a spring ring 122.

After the flushing operation has been completed, the closure member 109 is, by means of a spring 123, pressed onto its seat 124. In this way no further liquid entering through the opening 125 can enter the passage 111 through bore 126. The liquid pressure prevailing above the piston 104 will decrease through throttle opening 127 in which an adjustable throttling screw 128 is provided. The opening 127 is arranged in the upper portion 130 of the housing, which upper portion or member is screwed into the lower portion of the housing 118.

The water, which at this point is released, is through connecting line 129, conveyed to the water discharge opening. The liquid pressure prevailing in the lower portion 107 of the cylinder and the liquid pressure acting upon the closure member 102 together will now be sufficient to move the piston 104 upwardly. The closure body 102 is pressed onto its seat 115 so that the flow of the flushing fluid is stopped. Since the closure body 102 is pressed onto its seat at the low velocity of the piston 104, the flushing device gradually stops the waterflow without the danger of the occurrence of a water hammering.

For purposes of further reducing a sudden increase in pressure at the inflow 125 of the flushing medium, the bore of the housing which receives the flow-quieting device 101 is provided with grooves 125a, 125b, 125e, 125a, which are arranged in oppositely located pairs and which have different axial length. In this way, the pairs of grooves will, during the movement of the valve, be employed sequentially for conveying water without the danger that nonsymmetric forces may occur.

While the shutoff valve according to the present invention has been described in connection with water, it is a matter of course that the said shutoff valve may also be used with other fluid media.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular showing in the drawings, but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A shutoff valve, especially for use in connection with fluid conveying means which includes: housing means comprising first chamber means with a cylindrical inner surface and with groove means provided in said cylindrical inner surface extending in the axial direction thereof, said housing means also comprising second chamber means with fluid outlet means and furthermore comprising passage means for establishing communication between said first and second chamber means, closure means operable to control said passage means, and plunger means firmly connected to said closure means and movable selectively in said first chamber means so as to establish communication between said groove means and said second chamber means through said passage means in response to said plunger means moving away from said passage means.

2. A valve according to claim 1, in which said groove means comprises pairs of grooves which are so arranged that the grooves of one and the same pair are located opposite to each other, the grooves of one pair differing in dimension from the grooves of another pair.

3. A valve according to claim 1, in which said plunger means has that end which faces toward said closure means and also that end which faces away from said closure means provided with a section tapering toward the axis of said closure means.

4. A valve according to claim 1, in which said plunger means engages a portion of said closure means.

5. A valve according to claim 1, in which said closure means is formed by a ball of elastic material, and in which that end of said passage means which is adjacent said closure means has adjacent thereto a spherical seat to accommodate the adjacent surface of said ball.

6. A valve according to claim 5, in which said ball is of rubber.

7. A valve according to claim I, in which said second chamber means includes an inner chamber located adjacent said passage means and forming a throttle chamber with throttling outlets, and also includes an outer chamber communicating with said inner chamber through said throttling outlets.

' 8. A valve according to claim 1, which includes manually operable actuating means operatively connected to said closure means for opening the same, and spring means continuously biasing said actuating means to move' said closure member to its position for closing said passage means.

9. A valve according to claim 8, in which said actuating means includes a reciprocable rod connected to said closure member and also includes a rotatable spindle operable to longitudinally displace said rod.

10. A valve according to claim 8, in which said actuating means includes a reciprocable rod connected to said closure member and also includes rotatable eccentric means operable to longitudinally displace said rod.

11. A valve according to claim 10, which includes pivotable arm means supported by said housing means, and roller means supported by said arm means and interposed between said eccentric means and said rod.

12. A valve according to claim 1, in which said housing means includes third chamber means arranged in substantially axial alignment with said first chamber means and located on that side of said second chamber means which is remote from said first chamber means, double acting piston means reciprocable in said third chamber means and rigidly coupled to said closure means so as to be movable therewith, throttling means associated with said third chamber means, means for establishing connection between said throttling means and said second chamber means, said housing means also including a control mechanism comprising fourth chamber means with a reciprocable control plunger, first conduit means controlled by said control plunger and leading from said fourth chamber means to the upper portion of said third chamber means, manually operable means operatively connected to said control plunger for actuating the same, fifth chamber means, second conduit means leading from said fifth chamber means to said first chamber means, said fifth chamber means having an opening for vcommunication with said fourth chamber means, valve means controlling said opening, spring means continuously urging said valve means to close said opening, and means firmly connecting said control plunger in said fourth chamber means with said valve means, said manually operable means being operable to move said valve means against the thrust of said spring means so as to cause said valve means to open said opening to thereby establish communication between said fifth chamber means and the upper portion of said third chamber means through said first and second conduit means.

13. A valve according to claim 12, in which said second chamber means has a relatively short axial extension with regard to its dimension in a direction perpendicular thereto.

14. A valve according to claim 12, which includes a partition arranged between said second and third chamber means and provided with bores therethrough, the axes of said bores being substantially perpendicular to the axes of said outlet means.

15. A valve according to claim 14, in which said housing means has flange means intermediate said second chamber means and said third chamber means, and in which said partition rests on said flange means, and spring ring means securing said partition onto said flange means.

16. A valve according to claim 12, in which said throttling means is formed by a throttling screw, and in which the means for establishing communication between said throttling means and said second chamber means is formed by conduit means.

17. A valve according to claim 1, in which the fluid outlet means of said second chamber means are at an angle with regard to the axis of said second chamber means. 

1. A shutoff valve, especially for use in connection with fluid conveying means which includes: housing means comprising first chamber means with a cylindrical inner surface and with groove means provided in said cylindrical inner surface extending in the axial direction thereof, said housing means also comprising second chamber means with fluid outlet means and furthermore comprising passage means for establishing communication between said first and second chamber means, closure means operable to control said passage means, and plunger means firmly connected to said closure means and movable selectively in said first chamber means so as to establish communication between said groove means and said second chamber means through said passage means in response to said plunger means moving away from said passage means.
 2. A valve according to claim 1, in which said groove means comprises pairs of grooves which are so arranged that the grooves of one and the same pair are located opposite to each other, the grooves of one pair differing in dimension from the grooves of another pair.
 3. A valve according to claim 1, in which said plunger means has that end which faces toward said closure means and also that end which faces away from said closure means provided with a section tapering toward the axis of said closure means.
 4. A valve according to claim 1, in which said plunger means engages a portion of said closure means.
 5. A valve according to claim 1, in which said closure means is formed by a ball of elastic material, and in which that end of said passage means which is adjacent said closure means has adjacent thereto a spherical seat to accommodate the adjacent surface of said ball.
 6. A valve according to claim 5, in which said ball is of rubber.
 7. A valve according to claim 1, in which said second chamber means includes an inner chamber located adjacent said passage means and forming a throttle chamber with throttling outlets, and also includes an outer chamber communicating with said inner chamber through said throttling outlets.
 8. A valve according to claim 1, which includes manually operable actuating means operatively connected to said closure means for opening the same, and spring means continuously biasing said actuating means to move said closure member to its position for closing said passage means.
 9. A valve according to claim 8, in which said actuating means includes a reciprocable rod connected to said closure member and also includes a rotatable spindle operable to longitudinally displace said rod.
 10. A valve according to claim 8, in which said actuating means includes a reciprocable rod connected to said closure member and also includes rotatable eccentric means operable to longitudinally displace said rod.
 11. A valve according to claim 10, which includes pivotable arm means supported by said housing means, and roller means supported by said arm means and interposed between said eccentric means and said rod.
 12. A valve according to claim 1, in which said housing means includes third chamber means arranged in substantially axial alignment with said first chamber means and located on that side of said second chamber means which is remote from said first chamber means, double acting piston means reciprocable in said third chamber means and rigidly coupled to said closure means so as to be movable therewith, throttling means associated with said third chamber means, means for establishing connection between said throttling means and said second chamber means, said housing means also including a control mechanism comprising fourth chamber means with a reciprocable control plunger, first conduit means controlled by said control plunger and leading from said fourth chamber means to the upper portion of said third chamber means, manually operable means operatively connected to said control plunger for actuating the same, fifth chamber means, seconD conduit means leading from said fifth chamber means to said first chamber means, said fifth chamber means having an opening for communication with said fourth chamber means, valve means controlling said opening, spring means continuously urging said valve means to close said opening, and means firmly connecting said control plunger in said fourth chamber means with said valve means, said manually operable means being operable to move said valve means against the thrust of said spring means so as to cause said valve means to open said opening to thereby establish communication between said fifth chamber means and the upper portion of said third chamber means through said first and second conduit means.
 13. A valve according to claim 12, in which said second chamber means has a relatively short axial extension with regard to its dimension in a direction perpendicular thereto.
 14. A valve according to claim 12, which includes a partition arranged between said second and third chamber means and provided with bores therethrough, the axes of said bores being substantially perpendicular to the axes of said outlet means.
 15. A valve according to claim 14, in which said housing means has flange means intermediate said second chamber means and said third chamber means, and in which said partition rests on said flange means, and spring ring means securing said partition onto said flange means.
 16. A valve according to claim 12, in which said throttling means is formed by a throttling screw, and in which the means for establishing communication between said throttling means and said second chamber means is formed by conduit means.
 17. A valve according to claim 1, in which the fluid outlet means of said second chamber means are at an angle with regard to the axis of said second chamber means. 